Middle East

Ancient cities, desert landscapes and the most intriguing sea in the world: Lonely Planet's Jordan covers them all. But venture beyond Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea for activities coverage you won't find in any other guidebook. Hiking, scrambling, rock climbing, camel trekking, 4WD excursions - t... More

Tahir Shah's The Caliph's House,"" describing his first year in Casablanca, was hailed by critics and compared to such travel classics as "A Year in Provence" and "Under the Tuscan Sun," Now Shah takes us deeper into the heart of this exotic and magical land to uncover mysteries that have been hidde... More

Looking for the real story behind the headlines? Look here. Look to the region where ancient civilisations rose and fell, where deserts, seas and ancient ruins compete for spectacle, and from where all travellers return raving about the extraordinary kindness of strangers. Lonely Planet tells it lik... More

Lonely Planets first stand-alone guide to Afghanistan, this book is the ticket to no-nonsense travel. Far-reaching coverage of the sights--from the modern to the ancient--is complemented by a food guide, useful language section and glossary, and thorough accommodation coverage.Discover Afghanistan B... More

‘In his third book William Dalrymple has dug deep to present the case of the Middle East’s downtrodden Christians. More hard-hitting than either of his previous books, From the Holy Mountain is driven by indignation. While leavened with his characteristic jauntiness and humour, it is also profou... More

Bustling bazaars and ancient sights, parched deserts and snowcapped mountains, awesome architecture and simple hospitality - discover Iran's myriad attractions with this bestselling guide to the Persian heartland. Lonely Planet knows Iran better than anyone - discover its treasures with us. Connect ... More

With strong coverage of Dubai's emerging culinary scene, fully mapped walking tours, and extensive coverage of the surrounding emirates and Oman, this book, written by Dubai residents, is a testimony to the recent tourism boom that sees a 15 percent annual increase.Flashy, fun, very now, yet distinc... More

This up-to-date guide to Israel and the Palestinian territories includes a history chapter by former "Time" magazine Jerusalem bureau correspondent Matt Rees. Intrepid authors present fully researched coverage of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.Discover Israsel and the Palestinian Territories Listen fo... More

Take a bite out of Aphrodite's island: discover a country where East meets West, fashionable spas sit side-by-side with village kafeneia and heavenly beaches are backed by rugged mountains. While the coast calls to sun seekers and clubbers, inland is a haven of traditional villages, medieval castles... More

When do journeys like this really begin? When the author is very young, like the Baudelairean child in love with lamp-lit maps and prints? Nicolas Bouvier thinks that in his case it must have been between the ages of ten and thirteen; lying flat, chin propped in hands, gazing down at the mountains a... More

‘An astonishing and profoundly exciting book. It is the coming together of scholarship, history and anthropology, with literature . . . intellectually thrilling, compelling.’ —Book ReviewPacked with anecdote and exuberant detail, In an Antique Land provides magical and intimate insights into E... More

In 1926 Vita Sackville-West travelled to Iran to visit her husband, Harold Nicolson, who was serving as a diplomat in Teheran. Her route was deliberately slow-paced - she stopped in Egypt, where she sailed up the Nile to Luxor; and India, where she visited New Delhi and Agra before sailing across th... More

In 1999, the moroccan scholar Abdellah Hammoudi, trained in Paris and teaching in America, decided to go on the pilgrimage to Mecca. He wanted to observe the hajj as an anthropologist but also to experience it as an ordinary pilgrim, and to write about it for both Muslims and non-Muslims. Here is hi... More

"The Rise of Oriental Travel" follows four Seventeenth-century Englishmen on their journeys around the Ottoman Empire while it was still expanding westward and the British were, for the first time in history, becoming important players in the Mediterranean. Contrary to the hostile declamations of Pr... More

Remarkably Georgia, no larger than Switzerland, ranks in the world's top twelve for geographical diversity. It contains the heart of the Caucasus mountains--larger and more dramatic than the Alps--subtropical wetlands, a Black Sea coast, semi-desert, all peppered with ancient stone towers and an exc... More

"Between Sea and Sahara" is one of the great classics of travel-writing about the Middle East. Fromentin's masterpiece is a symbol of nineteenth century Europe's fascination with the Orient and a tale of passion and adventure set in Algeria in the third decade of French colonization. This is a compe... More